Ehsanipour v. Stephan CA1/1
Defendants Michael and Anisse Stephan possessed an easement for passage over a portion of an adjacent lot owned by plaintiffs Kamran and Mitra Ehsanipour. Prior to the Stephans’ purchase of their lot, the previous owner of the Ehsanipours’ property, an oil company, had erected a fence around the property that prevented all use of the easement. After purchasing the lot, the Ehsanipours maintained the fence for a period of 20 years, during which time the Stephans and their predecessor were unable to make any use of the easement. The trial court denied the Ehsanipours’ claim to have extinguished the easement by adverse possession solely on evidence that the oil company, when erecting the fence, had considered it temporary and intended to keep it in place only during environmental remediation of the property. We reverse, concluding the oil company’s original intent was irrelevant to a determination of adverse possession.
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